Government bags Shs1b in driving permit rush

Kampala. Government has made more than Shs1 billion in just eight days as motorists rush to beat the July 1 deadline when the levies on driving permits are expected to rise.
That is the amount of money that the government would normally make from the same services in a month.
According to statistics from Face Technologies, a private company that deals in permit issuance on behalf of the government, the average number of motorists applying for permits per day since June 20 has nearly tripled.
Since June 20, Face Technologies has been receiving an average of 2,255 applicants a day up from 857 that the company used to get.

Between June 20 and 28, more than 18,000 motorists had applied for driver’s permits with the biggest number of about 7910 applicants seeking renewal of permits, according to Face Technologies statistics this newspaper has seen. This translates to Shs120m per day, in the last eight days.
During the Budget reading, government proposed to increase the driving licence fees from Shs66,000 to Shs150,000 for those getting new permits, while those renewing their permits will pay Shs130,000 up from Shs60,000. The new fees are expected to take effect on July 1.

The rush has resulted in long queues and unbearable delays at Face Technologies outlets across the country.
However, the secretary of Transport Licensing Board, Mr Winstone Katushabe, said they are not focused on July 1 deadline and they will not increase the fees until they get a circular to do so.
“The law states that the revision of the fees must be done through a circular that is issued by the minister. We haven’t received a circular yet so we can’t increase the fees,” Mr Katushabe said.

Mr Katushabe said their biggest challenge right now is to ensure that the applicants do not deal with conmen that promise to get them the permits fast.
“Permit applicants should always not wait until their permits have expired to apply for their renewal. Most of the people queuing want their permits renewed before the expected deadline, which is causing congestion,” he said.
Driving permits expire in one and three years depending on the category. This means each motorist must renewal their permit at least once in every three years.

However, many motorists were not renewing their permits since the traffic fines have been lower than the amount of renewal. A fine for driving without a valid permit was Shs40,000 only. But the Minister for Transport revised the fines for those driving without a valid driving permit to Shs100,000 each or a jail term of between six months and three years.
In the Budget, the government also introduced a new permit that expires in five years’ time. The five-year permit will go for Shs250,000.

Issued permits
Permits issued Jan-May 2016 : 110580; average per month 22,116; average per day 857
Kampala area: 79,649 (average per day 617).
Permits issued June 20-28: 18,044; average per day: 2255; Kampala: 13581 (per day 1697).

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